I think that whether the tap water is healthy or not depends on where you live. In some places it's definitely worth filtering your water for things like heavy metals and in others it doesn't really matter. See if you can find the results from local water tests if you think it might be an issue -- many cities post this information online, so you could try searching 'water tests [your city name]'

The bottled water at the supermarket is probably just tap water. They don't have to release their water testing results to the public, either. That information is probably available for your tap water but not for the bottled water.

many cities post this information online, so you could try searching 'water tests [your city name]'

The bottled water at the supermarket is probably just tap water. They don't have to release their water testing results to the public, either. That information is probably available for your tap water but not for the bottled water.

It's not always available for bottled water, but sometimes can be found in the same way you find the information for your own city's water supply. In the U.S., municipalities are required to test and make publicly available the results of said testing of their water supplies. Water bottled in the U.S. by a publicly funded municipality is required to list that municipality clearly somewhere on the label. So, find that information on the label (usually in small print on the back of the bottle from the big, bold brand name) and try the same internet search. If that municipality includes online information in "making publicly available," you can get the same test reports for various brands of bottled (tap) water and for the stuff piped to your own home.

Note that private brands, though--and bottled spring water or mineral water is usually a private brand--do not necessarily have to conform with the same testing and reporting legislation as publicly funded municipalities and water districts. So it can be much harder to find information for, say, Perrier, than for Sparklets Water bottled from Ft. Worth, Texas' water authority._________________I am only a somewhat arbitrary sequence of raised and lowered voltages to which your mind insists upon assigning meaning

But basically there's no health difference if everybody's doing their job. If you're at the point where the tiny differences in dissolved trace minerals (usually added for flavor) can make or break your health, well, go to a hospital already because there's already something wrong with you. If you're worried about heavy metals because your house is ancient and the plumbing was never replaced, get it tested for a few bucks at the county health department.
If you have a private well, the water should have been tested for free when it was installed. Groundwater chemistry might change over time, if you're worried about that then see above about testing.

The only really plausible exception is in fluoridated tap water, which doesn't have much evidence of harm and has some middling evidence of benefit, but you should be brushing your teeth anyway.

What wheels said. The US has pretty high standards for drinking water, so it's highly unlikely that you will have any health concerns from city water. Some places have issues with taste - and taste is of course a personal thing. So give you local water a try to see how you like it - and remember, the stuff from your tap will be a lot cheaper than buying the bottled water. And you won't have all those bottles to deal with. I have a 1-literal water bottle made by Camelback which (true to the package claims) never had any plastic taste - definitely more environmentally sound._________________aka: neverscared!

does the "five second rule" still apply if you pick it up in time but drop it again, then pick it up in time then drop it again?

Nope but worrying about germs and dirt would be the least of your problems if you can't stop dropping your food everywhere._________________I'm doing the twitter thing; you should stalk/follow me: http://twitter.com/sillygurlroo

Crackers are dry and have a hard, non-sticky surface, so the chances of them picking up something are slim. Now if it was a piece of pepperoni, throw it the fuck out._________________...if a single leaf holds the eye, it will be as if the remaining leaves were not there.http://about.me/omardrake

So there's a restaurant that lists its hours as "4pm to Close." Does this mean something to people in the food industry? Because to me it means they close at closing time, which is like "who's on first?" When is closing time? When we close. When do you close? At closing time._________________"Worse comes to worst, my people come first, but my tribe lives on every country on earth. Iíll do anything to protect them from hurt, the human race is what I serve." - Baba Brinkman

Yeah, that's pretty confusing. If it's a small place, I assume that they close early if business is slow. In Pennsylvania, all bars/pubs/etc. can't sell alcohol between the hours of 2 am and 11 am so 'close' here is assumed to mean 2 am, although I know a few places that will let you buy tokens, which can be used until 3 am, but must be purchased before 2 am._________________...if a single leaf holds the eye, it will be as if the remaining leaves were not there.http://about.me/omardrake